Business

An ecommerce site is a business. Our Management & Finance category addresses online payments, funding needs, employee issues, merchant profiles, key metrics, multichannel and omnichannel strategies, cross-border analyses, inventory management, accounting topics, sales taxes, and much more.

Business
Apple Pay Adoption Continues; Looming Concerns?

February 4, 2015 • Gagan Mehra

Apple recently announced record-breaking sales for its 2014 fiscal year. Among the numbers for iPhones and iPads, the company also offered thoughts about the growth of Apple Pay, the mobile ...
Business
To Start an Ecommerce Business, Solve Problems

February 4, 2015 • Armando Roggio

There is a mantra of sorts in entrepreneurial circles that says “don’t simply start a business, solve a problem.” If you solve someone’s problem and create a must-have product or ...
B2B
How to Use SlideShare for B2B Ecommerce

February 3, 2015 • Paul Chaney

SlideShare, the presentation software platform, may be one of the most overlooked and underutilized tools for B2B ecommerce content marketing. There are several reasons to consider using SlideShare. The slideshow format ...
Business > Merchant Voice
‘Thinking time’ improves an ecommerce business

February 1, 2015 • David Sasson

“Thinking time” is underrated by leaders and managers of ecommerce companies. We operate in a fast-changing environment — competing both in technology and commerce. In this post, I will address ...
Business > Merchant Voice
From Magento to WooCommerce, part 1

January 30, 2015 • Richard Stubbings

Every three years I conduct a major review of my ecommerce sites. This is typically more than my annual review; everything is under consideration. In previous major reviews I have ...
Staffing
How to Hire an Ecommerce Consultant in 2015

January 26, 2015 • Armando Roggio

An ecommerce consultant can bring insights, information, and expertise that a small or mid-sized retail business doesn’t have. But hiring an ecommerce consultant can be relatively expensive, so you’ll want ...
Business
14 Questions Before You Launch an Ecommerce Site

January 23, 2015 • Armando Roggio

An Australian entrepreneur recently earned more than $20,000 in online sales in just four days, only to stop taking orders and sell the business. Ultimately, the shop made money, but ...
Business > Merchant Voice
The benefits of free product samples

January 22, 2015 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth

Whether you’ve been in business for years or you’re just launching a new website, sending samples of your products can grab the attention of shoppers. In this post, I’ll review ...
Business
Lessons Learned: Paddle Board Company Encounters Sharks, Success

January 21, 2015 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth

Imagine seeing a group of sharks. Would you lose your nerve? Stephan Aarstol nearly did. He had nothing to lose but rejection by pitching his business, Tower Paddle Boards, to the ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
Drop Shipping: How to Manage Inventory Visibility

January 20, 2015 • Jeremy Hanks

If you’re new to drop shipping, read my 4-part series on the basics, for ecommerce. Drop shipping requires three major data integrations between the retailer and the supplier: product catalog, inventory,
Business
Steve Case on SMB Ecommerce; BigCommerce Investment

January 19, 2015 • Kerry Murdock

Steve Case is the co-founder of America Online. His private equity firm, Revolution, invested, in 2013, $40 million in BigCommerce, a leading platform for small-to-midsize businesses.
Local Business
Beacons to Help Physical Stores Combat Ecommerce

January 15, 2015 • Marcia Kaplan

Brick-and-mortar retailers have been hard at work trying to lure online shoppers, who often visit physical stores to see and touch products, and then make purchases online. I previously addressed this ...
Business
Legal: When to Review, Update Business Contracts

January 13, 2015 • Elizabeth Lewis

As an attorney, I write a lot of contracts — terms of use, privacy policies, employment agreements, leases, and non-disclosure agreements, among others. However, what most people don’t understand about ...
Payments
EMV Credit Cards, Part 1: Who Is Responsible for Losses?

January 12, 2015 • Phil Hinke

This article is mainly for brick-and-mortar retailers. The upcoming October 2015 rule changes regarding EMV-enabled credit cards are specific to card-present...
Inventory
5 Tips for Buying Retail Inventory, for Ecommerce

January 11, 2015 • Armando Roggio

Smart wholesale buying can lead to ecommerce success and good profits. But the act of buying products to sell on an ecommerce site can be more of a challenge than ...
Business > Merchant Voice
Disaster planning for small businesses necessary?

January 9, 2015 • Richard Stubbings

I have frequently heard that disaster planning and risk assessment are for the large businesses, and that they are a needless administrative task for small companies. Disaster planning and risk ...
Business > Merchant Voice
Achieving a work-life balance

January 7, 2015 • Erica Tevis

Resolutions made in a new year are frequently discarded by the end of January. But a few years ago, when I was burnt out of running my own business, I ...
B2B
9 B2B Companies that Excel at Social Media

January 6, 2015 • Sig Ueland

Businesses that sell primarily to other companies can use social media to expand a brand, convey a vision, engage a community, promote products, and even provide customer support. Here is a list ...
Business
2014 Top 25: Our Most Popular Posts of the Year

December 31, 2014 • PEC Staff

As 2014 draws to a close, we’ve compiled a list of our 25 most popular articles of the year, based on the number of page views. Popular subjects included productivity tools, design,
Business
2 Ecommerce Blunders to Avoid in 2015

December 29, 2014 • Armando Roggio

Businesses ultimately fail when liabilities exceed assets — when the company doesn’t have enough money to pay its bills and keep operating. While there are many reasons or ways that ...
Business
Lessons Learned: Air Controller Directs Online Traffic

December 16, 2014 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth

Nathan Hartnett was an air traffic control officer in the Royal Australian Air Force in his hometown of Toowoomba (a city 79 miles west of Brisbane), Australia from 2001 to ...
Shipping & Fulfillment
Drop Shipping: How to Manage Product Catalog Data

December 16, 2014 • Jeremy Hanks

This is my sixth article on ecommerce drop shipping. The first five installments addressed the basics. This month, I’ll leave the installment format behind and discuss deeper topics and trends. Drop ...
Business
How to Measure 2014 Holiday Ecommerce Marketing

December 15, 2014 • Armando Roggio

U.S. online retail sales generally grew throughout 2014. And many Internet merchants have enjoyed increased holiday sales so far. Nonetheless, smart businesses always look for ways to improve, and knowing ...
Amazon & Marketplaces > Merchant Voice
The end of automated Amazon repricing?

December 15, 2014 • Richard Stubbings

We all know of Black Friday and the sale prices offered on that day to kickstart holiday sales. But the repricing software Repricer Express created an entire new meaning to ...
Business > Merchant Voice
The value of focus, within Theory of Constraints

December 12, 2014 • David Sasson

By pulling together ideas from a few different management paradigms, I’ve developed a methodology to drive growth for my ecommerce company by setting up a structure of focus on an ...
Cross-border Selling
Mexico Poised for Ecommerce?

December 11, 2014 • Marcia Kaplan

With Mexico’s reputation for unrelenting poverty and crime, it’s difficult to think of the country as a good place to do business. Yet, with a population of 122.3 million and ...
Local Business > Merchant Voice
Brick-and-click stores should offer free pick-up

December 9, 2014 • Elizabeth Hollingsworth

Free shipping is commonplace for ecommerce companies. For brick-and-click companies — those with online and physical stores — free pick-up can be a helpful shipping option for ecommerce customers that ...
Amazon & Marketplaces > Merchant Voice
Amazon’s version of Christmas customer care

December 7, 2014 • Richard Stubbings

At this time of year, more than any other time, you have to work harder at customer care. This is due to two main reasons. Firstly, you have a much ...
Fraud Prevention
How to Choose a Fraud Prevention Service, for Ecommerce

December 7, 2014 • Bob Angus

Ecommerce merchants love the holidays. So do fraudsters. Chargeback cheats and organized criminals know you’re busy driving sales, fulfilling orders, and keeping customers happy. They hope you are not as ...
Business
Websites Liable for Children’s Data under Federal Law

December 4, 2014 • Elizabeth Lewis

Last year at Christmas, I was surprised at the number of technology-focused toys aimed at children under four. I saw (a) stuffed animals that you can plug into your computer ...